Toy helicopter or the like

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to a toy helicopter construction which permits the helicopter to perform or function in a realistic manner. The structure includes a fuselage member having front, rear and intermediate portions with a rotor shaft swingably or pivotally connected to the intermediate portion and with a rotor construction rotatably connected to the shaft. The pivotal mounting of the shaft to the intermediate portion of the fuselage enables the shaft to be swung to a position generally in line with the fuselage when catapulting the helicopter into the air. The present disclosure also discloses a rotor which is of a one piece integral plastic construction and the plastic material is flexible so that it can function in the specific manner which is disclosed. As the helicopter reaches the top of its trajectory after having been catapulted into the air, the pivotal mounting of the rotor shaft enables the rotor shaft to assume a position generally at right angles to the extent of the fuselage, and the force of gravity causes the blades of the rotor to rotate the rotor and in their rotatative condition to assume a position approaching parallelism with the earth. After the helicopter has reached the ground on its downward flight, landing gear are provided to engage the ground. Wall means are provided at the intermediate portion of the fuselage so as to engage the rotor shaft and maintain the same in a realistic looking upright position.

United States Patent [191 Vanni [451 Apr. 16, 1974 4] TOY HELICOPTER OR THE LIKE [76] Inventor: Robert R. Vanni, 701 Tuxedo Ave.,

Brooklyn Heights, Ohio 44131 [22] Filed: June 28, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 267,028

[52] U.S. Cl 46/75, 46/79 46/81 [51] Int. Cl A63h 27/12 [58] Field of Search 46/74 R, 75, 82, 83

[56] t References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,358,379 9/1944 Butcher 46/75 Primary ExaminerLouis G. Mancene Assistant Examiner-Robert F. Cutting Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Woodling, Krost, Granger and Rust [57] ABSTRACT The present disclosure relates to a toy helicopter construction which permits the helicopter to perform or function in a realistic manner. The structure includes a fuselage member having front, rear and intermediate portions with a rotor shaft swingably or pivotally connected to the intermediate portion and with a rotor construction rotatably connected to the shaft. The pivotal mounting of theshaft to the intermediate portion of the fuselage enables the shaft to be swung to a position generally in line with the fuselage when catapulting the helicopter into the air. The present disclosure also discloses a rotor which is of a one piece integral plastic construction and the plastic material is flexible so that it can function in the specific manner which is disclosed. As the helicopter reaches the top of its trajectory after having been catapulted into the air, the pivotal mounting of the rotor shaft enables the rotor shaft to assume a position generally at right angles to the extent of the fuselage, and the force of gravity causes the blades of the rotor to rotate the rotor and in their rotatative condition to assume a position approaching parallelism with the earth; After the helicopter has reached the ground on its downward flight, landing gear are provided to engage the ground. Wall means are provided at the intermediate portion of the fuselage so as to engage the rotor shaft and maintain the same in a realistic looking upright position.

18 Claims, 10 DrawingFigures PATENTEU APR 1 6 974 SHEET 2 OF 3 TOY HELICOPTER OR THE LIKE The prior art is replete with toy constructions which involve devices which simulate various commercial heavier-than-air craft and which involve a rotating blade and which are commonly referred to helicopters. This particular nomenclature should not be limiting; however, because by whatever name the structure is known, so long as it operates in a similar manner, it may be considered to be the same.

The largest problem with prior art devices is that when they assume a realistic physical appearance, they are extemely difflcult to catapult into the air, are unrealistic in their flight pattern and normally come to rest on the ground in an unrealistic manner.

In these prior art devices where the flight pattern is relatively realistic, the devices themselves are quite remote in their resemblance to conventional aircraft.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a toy of the type described which has a physical appearance which is quite realistic when resting on the ground or when it goes through its flight pattern, yet can be readily propelled into the air to begin its gravitydriven flight. The present construction is also susceptible to economic production methods and is capable of being manufactured in a durable and sturdy manner.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of this invention maybe had by referring to the following description and claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the toy helicopter of the present invention in its position preparatory to being launched into the air.

means 35 are provided on the rear end portion of the fuselage and are for the purpose of providing a means for engagement of the craft with a device for propelling the same to a given vertical height.

The device illustrated in FIG. 1 for propelling the craft into the air is like a conventional slingshot which includes a Y-shaped member 37 and an elastic member such as a rubber band 38.

Landing gear means indicated generally by the reference numeral 40 are carried by the intermediate portion of the fuselage member. The landing gear means includes first and second ground engaging member 41 and 42, respectfully, and these are adjustably secured to the fuselage by members 43 and 44, respectfully, the upper ends of which reside in longitudinally extending slots 45 and 46 on opposite sides of the fuselage. The reason for this construction is so that one using the helicopter may change its center of gravity within limits by simply moving the members 43 and 44 within the limits of slots 45 and 46 as demonstrated in FIG. 7. i

The rotor shaft 50 (best seen in FIG. 4) is pivotally connected at 52 to the intermediate portion'of the fuse- Iage and because of this pivoted construction, the shaft may be moved from the position shown in FIG. 4 where it is generally normal to the extent of the fuselage to the position of FIG. 1 where it is generally in line with the fuselage. The reason for being able to move the rotor between these two positions will be discussed at greater length hereinafter. A rotor indicated generally at 56 is rotatably carried by the rotor shaft and includes first and second blades 58 and- 59 which are made from FIG. 2 is an elevational view showing the device of' FIG. 1 in its downward gravity influenced flight;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 representing the device at rest on the ground;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged frag'mentaryview partially in section of the structure shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view taken generally in along the line 55 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view taken generally along the line 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the landing gear of the craft shown in FIGS. 1 through 3;

FIG. 8 is a view taken generally along the line 8--8 of FIG. 7; 7

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the rotor of the toy disassem bled from the device as shown in FIGS. 1 through 5 and showing the generally flat position it assumes because of the flexible nature of the plastic of which it is formed; and

FIG. 10 is a view showing how the two blades of the rotor are folded upon each other by the assembly more specifically shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 when it is in opwhat can best be described as a generally flat, thin, flexible, piece of plastic which in its normal condition would occupy a position as shown in FIG. 9 and when held in the rotor assembly, occupies the position shown, for example, in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. The rotor is held in this position by what will be referred to herein as a rotor bracket 61 which positions the blades 58 and 59 relative to each other somewhat as shown in FIG. 10 when viewed in one direction and relative to each other as shown in FIG. 4 when viewed in a direction 90 thereto. A T-shaped member 63 is secured to the rotor bracket 61 and includes a hollow extension 65 which fits around and surrounds the rotor shaft 50 above its pivotal mounting 52. It is preferred that the pivotal connection 52 be located slightly toward the rear end portion 26 from the center of gravity of the fuselage member so that the helicopter assumes the position shown in FIG. 2 (with the front end portion tilted slightly downward) when moving toward the ground by the action of gravity after having been shot or propelled into the air. It will be noted from the connection between the rotor 56 and the rotor shaft 50, that relative longitudinal movement is permitted between the two in the sense that the rotor may move from its upper position as shown in FIG. 2 to its lower most position as shown in FIG. 4. The lower end ofextension 65 is adapted to drop into a locking slot 67, formed by wall means, in the landed position of the craft (FIG. 3) and this serves to keep the rotor in a realistic-looking upright position. It will be seen that wall means are shown at the intermediate portion 30 on the fuselage member and the purpose of these wall means 70 are to engage the rotor shaft 50 to maintain the same in a stabilized realistic upright position during the downward flight of the craft (FIG..2).

The first and second blades 58 and 59 of therotor (see FIG. occupy or are positioned at a small acute angle to each other, which is a contributing factor to proper flight of the helicopter and also to provide for proper flight of the device there are provided widened portions 72 and 73 on theblades 59 and 59, respectively. The dotted lines 75and 76 in FIG. 9 illustrate how the one piece member may be folded upon itself as held within the rotor bracket 61.

In order to utilize the toy helicopter which has been described hereinabove, it is simply necessary to position the cooperating parts as shown in FIG. I and utilizing the Y-shaped member 37 and rubber band 38 in cooperation with the wall means 35, to propel the device into the air the desired vertical distance. When the helicopter reaches the zenith or apex of its propelled flight, the action of gravity and the air .resistance causes the rotor shaft 50 to assume the position shown in FIG. 2. The dot-dash lines 80 'illustate the position of the two blades 58 and 59 just as the helicopter begins its down-v lage member.

3. A helicopter as claimed in claim 1., wherein said rotor is connected to said rotor shaft in such a manner that longitudinal movement between the two is permitted.

4. A helicopter as claimed in claim 1, wherein another wall means are provided on said intermediate portion for engagement with the rotor shaft and rotor combination to maintain said rotor shaft in said position generally normal to the extent of said fuselage.

5. A helicopter as claimed in claim 4, wherein said rotor comprises first and second thin, flexible, opposed and generally flat plastic blades.

6. A helicopter as claimed in claim 5, wherein when said first and second flat blades are folded together, the

' longitudinal axis of the blades are at a small acute angle ward flight. The air resistance and the action of gravity cause the rotor 56 to rotate in a realistic manner and cause the blades to fan out through the positions indicated by the numeral 81, tending to approach the fullline position of the blades illustrated by the reference numeral 82. The shaft'SO engages the wall means 70.

When the helicopter reaches the ground, the first and second ground engaging members 41 and 42 come in contact therewith and keep the helicopter in an upright position as shown in FIG. 3. The action of gravity causes the hollow extension 65 to slide downwardly on the rotor shaft 3 into slot 67 to the position shown in FIGS. 8 and 4 and the rotor shaft and rotor assembly are retained in a realistic looking generally upright condition. 1

It will thus be seen from the detailed description of the structure hereinabove that a very realistic appearing toy helicopter or the like has been disclosed which is capable of being efficiently'and readily launched into the air so as to travel through its gravity-powered flight.

Although this invention has been described in its preferred form with'a certain degree of particularity, it is scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

l. A toy helicopter or the like, including in combination a fuselage member having front and rear end portions and an intermediate portion, landing gear means comprising first and second ground engaging members, wall-means on one of said front and rear end portions for launching said helicopter into theair, said one of said front and rear end portions on which said wall means is located being the portion adapted to be first launched into the air, a rotor shaft pivotally secured to' said intermediate portion of said fuselage whereby said shaft may move from a position generally normal to the extent of said fuselage member to a position generally in line with the other one of said front and rear end portions opposite the location of said wall means for launching said helicopter into the air, and a rotor rotatably carried by said rotor shaft.

2. A toy helicopteras claimed in claiml, wherein said pivotal connection is located slightly toward said to each other.

7. A helicopter as claimed in claim 6, wherein said first and second blades are made of a one piece member.

8. A helicopter as claimed in claim 7, wherein said first and second blades each have a widened portion thereon.

9. A helicopter as claimed in claim 7, wherein said first and second flat blades made of said one piece member are held in folded condition by positioning a connecting portion of the first and second blades into a trough shaped bracket and holding the connecting portion therein by another'member placed on top of the connecting portion and located in the trough shaped bracket. g

10. A helicopter as claimed in claim 9, wherein said first and second blades are held in a generally V-shape configuration with a given angle between the two blades in the inactive condition thereof and because of the inherent resiliency of the blades and the coaction thereof with the air in the descending condition of the helicopter from a vertical height, the angle between the two blades increases.

11. A toy helicopter or the like, including in combination a fuselage member having front and rear end portions and an intermediate portion, wall means on said front end portion of said fuselage member carrying a representation of a pilot of the helicopter, wall means on said rear end portion of said fuselage member for engagement with means for propelling the helicopter into the air a given vertical height in the direction of said rear end portion of said fuselage, landing gear means comprising first and second ground engaging members connected to said intermediate portion of said fuselage member, a rotor shaft pivotally secured to saidintermediate portion of said fuselage whereby said shaft may move from a position generally in line with said front end portion of said fuselage member to a position generally normal to the extent of said fuselage and a rotor rotatably carried by said rotor shaft. 1

12. A toy helicopter as claimed in claim 11, wehrein said pivotal connection is located slightly toward said rear end portion from the center of gravity of said fuselage member.

13. A helicopter as claimed in claim 11, wherein said rotor is connected to said rotor shaft in such a manner that longitudinal movement between the two is permitted.

14. A helicopter as claimed in claim 11, wherein another wall means are provided on said intermediate acute angle to each other.

17. A helicopter as claimed in claim 16, wherein said first and second blades are made of a one piece member.

18. A helicopter as claimed in claim 17, wherein said first and second blades each have a widened portion thereon. 

1. A toy helicopter or the like, including in combination a fuselage member having front and rear end portions and an intermediate portion, landing gear means comprising first and second ground engaging members, wall means on one of said front and rear end portions for launching said helicopter into the air, said one of said front and rear end portions on which said wall means is located being the portion adapted to be first launched into the air, a rotor shaft pivotally secured to said intermediate portion of said fuselage whereby said shaft may move from a position generally normal to the extent of said fuselage member to a position generally in line with the other one of said front and rear end portions opposite the location of said wall means for launching said helicoPter into the air, and a rotor rotatably carried by said rotor shaft.
 2. A toy helicopter as claimed in claim 1, wherein said pivotal connection is located slightly toward said rear end portion from the center of gravity of said fuselage member.
 3. A helicopter as claimed in claim 1, wherein said rotor is connected to said rotor shaft in such a manner that longitudinal movement between the two is permitted.
 4. A helicopter as claimed in claim 1, wherein another wall means are provided on said intermediate portion for engagement with the rotor shaft and rotor combination to maintain said rotor shaft in said position generally normal to the extent of said fuselage.
 5. A helicopter as claimed in claim 4, wherein said rotor comprises first and second thin, flexible, opposed and generally flat plastic blades.
 6. A helicopter as claimed in claim 5, wherein when said first and second flat blades are folded together, the longitudinal axis of the blades are at a small acute angle to each other.
 7. A helicopter as claimed in claim 6, wherein said first and second blades are made of a one piece member.
 8. A helicopter as claimed in claim 7, wherein said first and second blades each have a widened portion thereon.
 9. A helicopter as claimed in claim 7, wherein said first and second flat blades made of said one piece member are held in folded condition by positioning a connecting portion of the first and second blades into a trough shaped bracket and holding the connecting portion therein by another member placed on top of the connecting portion and located in the trough shaped bracket.
 10. A helicopter as claimed in claim 9, wherein said first and second blades are held in a generally V-shape configuration with a given angle between the two blades in the inactive condition thereof and because of the inherent resiliency of the blades and the coaction thereof with the air in the descending condition of the helicopter from a vertical height, the angle between the two blades increases.
 11. A toy helicopter or the like, including in combination a fuselage member having front and rear end portions and an intermediate portion, wall means on said front end portion of said fuselage member carrying a representation of a pilot of the helicopter, wall means on said rear end portion of said fuselage member for engagement with means for propelling the helicopter into the air a given vertical height in the direction of said rear end portion of said fuselage, landing gear means comprising first and second ground engaging members connected to said intermediate portion of said fuselage member, a rotor shaft pivotally secured to said intermediate portion of said fuselage whereby said shaft may move from a position generally in line with said front end portion of said fuselage member to a position generally normal to the extent of said fuselage and a rotor rotatably carried by said rotor shaft.
 12. A toy helicopter as claimed in claim 11, wehrein said pivotal connection is located slightly toward said rear end portion from the center of gravity of said fuselage member.
 13. A helicopter as claimed in claim 11, wherein said rotor is connected to said rotor shaft in such a manner that longitudinal movement between the two is permitted.
 14. A helicopter as claimed in claim 11, wherein another wall means are provided on said intermediate portion for engagement with the rotor shaft and rotor combination to maintain said rotor in said position generally normal to the extent of said fuselage.
 15. A helicopter as claimed in claim 14, wherein said rotor comprises first and second thin, flexible, opposed and generally flat plastic blades.
 16. A helicopter as claimed in claim 15, wherein when said first and second flat blades are folded together, the longitudinal axis of the blades are at a small acute angle to each other.
 17. A helicopter as claimed in claim 16, wherein said first and second blades are made of a one piece member.
 18. A helicopter as claimed in claiM 17, wherein said first and second blades each have a widened portion thereon. 